Wet wood?

[Bub381]

Had this stove going for 3 hrs and finally got it up to 4oo.Secondaries really don't wanna go and when they do they go right back out after a few rolling burns.Meter says moisture is below 25% but wood was just a little punky from a dead birch that had been standing for 2 yrs dead and cut split and dried for 2 months but it's been damp lately.Had 2 good drying days then brought in and burnt.Here's the results.Thinking the punky wood drew moisture to the core.Wood is covered now after 2 days of NW wind and sun.Think next time i'll try the stuff i split and checked the moisture content.

 

[pen]

Were you loading on hot coals w/ an ash bed in the bottom?

If not, the first fire never seems to be as hot as reloads by nature.

I don't recall your flue. Is this stove going into a 6 in liner ? How tall?

pen

 

[BrotherBart]

Two month old wood is wet wood. I don't care if the tree died in 1964.

 

[Pagey]

Two month old wood is wet wood. I don't care if the tree died in 1964.

Bingo.

 

[nate379]

I am burning stuff that I cut and split in July/August of this year. It's probably still wet some, but it seems to be burning well. Cottonwood. I guess it dried out pretty quickly.

 

[jatoxico]

Two month old wood is wet wood. I don't care if the tree died in 1964.

1964? You might be overstating just a bit :lol: . I recently cut down a dead standing locust and cut to stove size no splitting. Split a pc the other day and registered around 15%.

Anyway I get your point and agree, 25% and w/ damp punky outside prob does explain the results of the OP.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

You might try using a few birch splits mixed in with some dry wood on a reload.

 

[BrotherBart]

A few years ago I got around to cutting up a red oak that had been standing dead for two years. Then it went down in a wind storm and laid there for two more years. When I cut into it water started pouring out and poured for three days. Not dripping. Pouring.

 

[Milton Findley]

A standing dead birch tree is a standing dead sponge according to my logging friends. Green ones burn better in a campfire.

 

[BrotherBart]

If the roots are in the ground, they suck in water. Dead or not. That oak is proof. Only two big roots were still intact after it fell. Amazed me.

 

[jatoxico]

Oak, it's always the oak. I posted a few moisture readings the other day. Had wood from some dead standing oak delivered to the house. Split in Aug and some was 18-20% a few days ago. But while splitting I could tell the logs from one of the trees were clearly still wet. Could not get to those splits the other day to get a reading with the meter as they are on bottom of stacks but based upon look and feel of them it won't surprise me if those particular splits are too wet for this year.

 

[Bub381]

No it was on a clean stove and i believe it to be the damp wood also.Just needed an opinion or 2.Thought it would be dry,it's only 2" across it.I know punky wood holds the rain pretty good,will switch to my other wood.Thanks all. Had the tree guy cut it 4 months earlier when i called him i'd be burnin it.lol Birch holds it's moisture well and i split the bigger stuff.The stuff i tried is too small to split.The splits aren't punky,just the small stuff,wrist size and smaller.Next time i'll throw that trash.Figured good for shoulder season.lolThanks again,will dry longer

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Birch dies from the inside out. Many times you will see a birch that appears to be dead or dieing and when you cut it, you find the inside is already rotten. This is also why it is important to split birch right after cutting it else it will rot from the inside out. I'd say you got a decent fire for what you had.

 

[firefighterjake]

Birch can be tricky sometimes . . . also don't forget to not dial down your air control too far or too fast . . . dial it down in steps . . . a bit at a time.

 

[Bub381]

Had to run it wide open,inside of stove turned black but when it got to 400 the steel baffles turned back to silver and the firebrick turned yellow again so stuff was burning off.10-4 on splitting birch and thanks for the info.

 

[Bub381]

roughly 17'of 6"

 

[Battenkiller]

A standing dead birch tree is a standing dead sponge according to my logging friends. Green ones burn better in a campfire.

+1

Birch bark has an oily wax in it called suberin that makes it totally waterproof. That's why the natives here used it for canoes. Usually it will rot away before it dries, even branches and small trunks.